Page 104 of Brew
”It’s not as bad as it looks,” he grunts, moving toward me as I step back.
“Not as bad as it looks?”
”That’s right.” He reaches out, brushing away a lone tear trickling down my cheek. “I said I’d come back.”
“Not like this. You never said you were coming back like this.” My words are harsher than I mean them to, and I can see in the way he frowns that he’s not understanding. “I’m mad at you,” I clarify.
His eyebrows shoot up in surprise as he asks, “Why?”
“W-why?” I stammer. “Brew, you’ve been shot, come and sit down.”
It’s then I notice he has blood on his hands, too. “That’s not mine,” he says, looking at where I’m gaping.
“I don’t want to ask.”
“You don’t have to; I’ll tell you. I tortured a man to get information out of him, then I slit his throat.”
My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. I know I do that a lot around him, but this hits differently. “Holy…” I can’t even finish. I make a cross sign as I step back.
“You afraid of me now?”
“No.” I’m firm with my words. “I’m not afraid of you. I was worried. I-I had no clue that you could be hurt, Brew. I mean, I know now it seems obvious and all, but I didn’t think it through. I guess I always figured you were like some Superman.”
One corner of his mouth lifts. “Superman?”
“You know what I mean. You’re larger than life. Untouchable.”
“I’m afraid I’m only human,” he says. “And I need to wash my hands before I touch you.”
Right, to wash the blood off.
I follow him to the bathroom as he strips out of his clothes, standing fully naked, he washes his hands in the sink and then reaches into the shower to turn it on.
“Should I be burning those clothes?” I whisper, only half-joking.
He turns to look at me over his shoulder. “Not a bad idea, but that makes you an accomplice.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay. Tell me what happened. I want to know.”
“I already told you.”
“You found the ringleader involved with Valencia’s murder?”
“One of them. I know now where Ridgley is. I’m gonna find him.”
“Brew.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
He reaches for me, and I let him. He plants a chaste kiss on my lips, then disappears into the shower. Of course, I can still see him, the glass is translucent. “I’m sorry to put you through this, and clearly I didn’t mean to get shot,” he says. “But sometimes shit happens.”
“That’s it?” I say. “Shit happens.”
Our eyes meet through the glass. “You really are mad at me.”
“I’m not mad, I’m terrified!” I exclaim. Tears shoot from my eyes as I hastily wipe them away. “I could’ve lost you.Wecould’ve lost you. My god, what is your mom gonna say?”
He soaps his hands up and begins to wash himself. “She’ll slap me upside the head, call me an idiot, then give me a hug. She knows who I am.”
“And I don’t?”
